Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton was selected and sworn in as president of the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey at the association’s annual convention last weekend.
Dalton succeeds Hunterton County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III for a one-year term as association president.
Gloucester County’s prosecutor since 2002, Dalton will lead the group made up of the state’s 21 county prosecutors.
The organization works with Acting New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman and Director of Criminal Justice Elie Honig. It focuses on enhancing the practices and procedures of the state’s prosecutor’s offices and law enforcement agencies. In addition, the association offers scholarships to students entering the fields of law and criminal justice.
“I am excited to serve as president of the County Prosecutors Association and look forward to working with my colleagues and the Attorney General’s Office in addressing important public safety issues facing all New Jersey residents,” Dalton said.
A lifelong resident of Gloucester County, Dalton received his undergraduate degree from James Madison University in Virginia and his law degree from the University of Bridgeport Law School in Connecticut.
He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in the Fourth Legislative District in 1993 and was re-elected for a second two-year term in 1995, serving as the house’s associate minority party leader. He served as municipal prosecutor in Paulsboro and Glassboro before being sworn in as county prosecutor in May 2002.
As an assemblyman, he was a strong advocate for enactment of Megan’s Law for monitoring sex offenders and for life prison sentences after a third felony conviction.
In his office, Dalton has implemented a number of programs to strengthen law enforcement agency relationships with the communities they serve, including high school student summer internships and a community partnership in which residents meet monthly to seek solutions to “quality of life” problems in their neighborhoods.
He started a county Mental Health Task Force that has trained law enforcement officers in recognizing and approaching persons with mental illnesses they may encounter in their work.
Under Dalton’s leadership, the GCPO has established a Veterans Initiative to identify and assist armed services veterans facing charges in the county criminal justice system, and an Elder Abuse Initiative to target those who abuse and financially exploit senior citizens.
Investigation of old homicides, known as “cold cases,” is a priority for Dalton, and it has resulted in the arrest and conviction of suspects in three murders dating back to 1972.
The GCPO under Dalton has assumed supervision of the county Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, reinstated an arson investigation unit and established a High-Tech Crimes unit to investigate online criminal activity, especially cases involving minors as victims.
